Another thread about medication reactions

I generally don't talk about the medications I try because there are always tons of bad experiences out there and I want to keep an open mind about our trial. So we are trying zoloft to see if it won't take the edge off of the anxiety and ocdness. It's been about 4 weeks now.

I have decided today that he is more hyper. Kind of like the fidgety can't sit still behavior, more talkative than usual, more wild. I think it's why husband is irritated with him today.

What I'm wondering is if this may possibly abate? Might he get used to it and settle into his skin again?

I'm a little discouraged and unless he adjusts a settles down this will not be the medication for us.

Any of the SSRIs can do what you are talking about.
Even with my own self, I have experienced that.
And yes, he could settle down and his body could start to acclimatize to the medication -
or he could need a lower dose -
or this could possibly not be the right medication.
Have you talked to him about how he feels inside? How does he describe his emotions, body, thoughts?

I think the restlessness on SSRI's is called akathisia. My mom developed it on Celexa. Some people just can't tolerate these medications. Yet for others it can work great.

I would think that after four weeks, he would be adjusting pretty well to any side effects, so if you are seeing something that's not going away by now, it's not likely to. But then, I'm no doctor. Perhaps a call to the psychiatrist on Monday is in order?

My experience taking Prozac, Paxil, Celexa and Zoloft (yep, tried all those) is that for me if they were going to make me jittery and hyper, it only got worse and even lowering the dose didn't help me. It is very "hit" or "miss." Prozac, Celexa and Zoloft made me MORE full of anxiety. Prozac was awful, Celexa was awful, Zoloft landed me in the hospital for a fast medication wash. Paxil, on the other hand, calmed me down and has made me sane and not depressed and panic-attack free for fifteen years now. Because of my own experiences with SSRIs, I don't personally like them for kids. There are much better medications for anxiety than SSRIs. JMO.

My daughter experienced this as well on the ssri's. we tried several of them and then we tried the anti anxiety medications, nothing fit well. hence the BiPolar (BP) diagnosis after several years of trying......

have you spoken to the doctor, what were his thoughts?? and the other's are right it may just take time to settle in. what dose is he on?

ML, how long has it been since you did the last dose increase? You should count from that point forward (not 4 weeks) to judge whether it's helping or not. From what I've read, it can take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks to adjust to each dose increase. Unless the side effect is unbearable to either your son or yourself, I think I would give it a little more time to see if he settles down. If things only worsen, I suspect Zoloft isn't the right medication for him.

MWM, what other medications are better than SSRIs to treat anxiety in children? Benzos can be addictive, and APs have a rough side effect profile. What else is there?

in my opinion trying to atypical psychotics would be better for kids who get very hyper on SSRIs. I got nuts on them. The anti-psychotics have a different type of side effect, if you're going to have one. I'd try a low dose of Seroquel. I really respond well to benzos and I do take them, but I wouldn't give benzos to a child. I find them the absolute most effective medication for anxiety--nothing comes close/tried 'em all--however, if a child doesn't have to take a habit forming medication, that's best. BUT, big BUT, SSRIs are also habit forming. Doctors don't tell us this, and I'm not sure why, but anyone who has tried to withdraw from one is well aware that they are also habit forming. I have been told that the withdrawal syndrome for SSRIs is worse than for Benzos so...it's also a risk for dependency. And I know folks first hand who went through that SSRI withdrawal and swore it was the worse thing that ever happened to them. All in all, for kids, if I were medicating my own, I wouldn't go there with SSRIs. I've just heard and seen too much (and experienced too much). The very best thing for anxiety in my opinion is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. JMO/experience.

He's on 25 mg.. for the past 4 weeks, no increase yet. Maybe MWM is right and CBT is the way to go. Except he also has the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) stuff which I was hoping would be addressed by the zoloft. I will give it one more week and decide at that point. This is so frustrating, there just doesn't seem to be anything out there that really helps.

ML umm yea we're 10 pounds increase in 2 mos. difficult child has been on seroquel. i'Tourette's Syndrome a good medication, yet it's horrible on the weight. it doesn't even matter if i control what she eats, i've never seen anything like it. eventually we're going to have to pull it if this keeps up. her self image and self confidence is taking a beating right now. actiivty doesnt' help either.

it's almost like toto and i were discussing this one day on a thread it's the pouch. like all the extra weight goes striaght to their bellies. other than that great medication.

I also strongly agree with midwest mom the ssri's can be a horror show to ween off of. I"m not sure if it's due to them being addicting or just it changes the chemical make up so severely that coming off of them can even be painful. whereas weening off an ap is alot easier i have found at least for difficult child.

If he's not doing well on the SSRIs, the tricyclic ADs might be an option. Anafranil is FDA-approved for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in children. The SSRI Luvox seems to be less stimulating than other SSRIs as well and is also FDA-approved for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in children.

Seroquel is a huge weight gainer, as are all the atypical antipsychotics. They can also cause diabetes and high cholesterol.

So what I am hearing is there is no help medicinewise. The side effects I've mentioned are unlikely to get better? He's already overweight so an ap would be detrimental healthwise. I'm feeling very discouraged.

ML, the side effect might get better, but it might not. You need to ask your psychiatrist. We're not doctors so you shouldn't take our word as gospel. There might be help medwise with some of the other suggestions I listed. Trying two SSRIs shouldn't cause you to give up entirely.

medications, for us, were a nitemare. difficult child began on Ritalin....and then a couple years later docs added Paxil, Prozac um....Tenex, Klonopin, wellbutrin, Zoloft, ativan, Buspar.......neurontin, seroquel, and more and more, that at the moment, I cannot pull the names from my memory.

Paixl and Prozac made her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) worse, actually. She began to hoard all kinds of items, pencils, scissors, scotch tape, then knives......in her pillowcase. She was 8. Then she became suicidal. Switched to zoloft and an ER visit, and a medication wash. VERY manic and psychotic. Ativan and Buspar lowered her inhibitions....she was calmer, but acted out more, no inhibition control at all.
Seroquel caused her to balloon up incredibly, insanely. She tripled her weight in a matter of mere months. She developed insulin resistance, and very very high blood pressure. Even now years off the medications, her insulin resistance and weight and very high blood pressure never settled back to anything even close to "normal" Her activity level had to be restricted due to the blood pressure and paliptations and shortness of breathe. Her anxiety increased dramatically .........and never did abate.
Each person can be so different in their reaction to ANY medication......it can be so hard to find ones that give the results you seek, and so hard to find ones whose negative parts are tolerable (and safe)

Between, me, my husband and difficult child and then our son....we have tried so many psychiatric medications, in so many combinations and doses.....had worked with medications for all 4 of us starting 20 years ago..........with so many in patient trips and day hospital programs and psychiatrists and ndocs monitoring.....we have a wide range of diagnosis'es.....and those diagnosis'es have changed so many times over the 20 years, and the medications and doses have changed so much.....and the medications and doses can overlap with each other for all the diagnosis'es......

Follow your gut- I am coming to realize that any medication effecting moods can be a lot different for each person- if you see a change in Manster, try taking him off and see if things go bak to the way they were- if they do, you know it was the medication. If they don't...well, we might be at that same point- this is a nightmare for a mother...